FieldTurf CEO Eric Daliere responded to recent negative coverage his company has received in an op-ed published by the New Jersey Star-Ledger last month.
A New Jersey Advance Media investigation into FieldTurf claims the company intentionally misled its customers and sold fields that were deteriorating prematurely.
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In the op-ed, Daliere stands by the company’s Duraspine product, and says that despite reports of deteriorating fields in New Jersey and elsewhere, the product is not defective.
“The fact is that the evidence and data show the Duraspine UV issue has not caused, and will not cause, fields to fail during their warranty periods in New Jersey,” Daliere writes. “Just as a tire loses tread over time, splitting and fibrillation is normal for fibers — it is not itself the sign of a defect.”
Daliere also pointed to the company’s New Jersey customers as evidence of the integrity of the product.
“Of the 114 Duraspine fields installed in New Jersey that have passed their eight-year warranty period, only 14 have been replaced. Those replacements were due to normal wear, and 12 of those customers chose a FieldTurf field a second time,” he writes. “The other 100 of these fields that have passed their warranty period are still being played on. The truth is the vast majority of customers in New Jersey have been happy with their product and taxpayers have received good value.”
Additionally, Daliere admitted that there had been a problem with the Duraspine product deteriorating more quickly in high-UV, sunny environments, but claimed that proactive action has mitigated the issue. They sued the Duraspine supplier, brought fiber production in-house, and replaced affected fields.
“We have worked hard to make things right for these customers, and the vast majority have been happy,” Daliere writes.
The full op-ed can be found here.
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